October 21

But as for you, do you seek great things for yourself? Stop seeking! For I will bring disaster on every living creature, declares the LORD, but wherever you go, I will grant your life as a spoil of war. — Jer 45:5 BSB

The Lord can be said to spiritually “bring evil upon all flesh” when He brings trouble and calamity upon the flesh and all that the flesh desires. This blow falls upon the fruits of the flesh when it cuts down false religious hopes, vain confidence, and self-reliance. The result of these divine strokes is that the soul is laid low before God, poor and needy at His mercy. As the Holy Spirit opens the eyes to see, quickens the soul to feel, and empowers the heart to seek, there is now a pursuit of true, substantial things—things that have real worth, not just shadows. This is when pardon, mercy, the testimony of God in the soul, the light of His countenance, the sprinkling of Jesus’ blood upon the conscience, and all the spiritual blessings of the gospel are sought after, valued, and cherished.

It’s no longer enough to simply hear these things from a minister, agree with them intellectually, or accept them based on the testimony of others. Now, they are only enjoyed to the extent that they are tasted, felt, and experienced in the depths of the heart. I can testify from my own experience that it wasn’t until trouble came upon me, particularly through a long illness, that I truly sought after the manifestations of the Lord’s favor. I had life before that time, but it was not until I was brought low in both body and soul that I earnestly began seeking the visitation of God’s grace in my life. Before, I was deceived by Satan and my own heart, seeking to grow wise in knowledge rather than feel the power of godliness in my soul. Since that time, despite many discouragements and fluctuations, I have been led to seek the Lord’s favor with a sense of pressing need like never before—the dew of His Spirit, the application of His atoning blood, and the inward testimony of His love and grace.

When the Lord brings evil upon our flesh, it is not to destroy the genuine faith we have. Rather, it is to sweep away the false religion we may cling to. His winnowing fan blows away the chaff, leaving the pure grain. The heavenly Surgeon’s sharp knife cuts away the disease, leaving the healthy parts unscathed. When the Lord brings distress into the soul, it is not to destroy any grace given by the Holy Spirit, but to fulfill the Scripture, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up.” He places His “vessels of gold and silver” into the furnace to remove the dross, so that they may be “sanctified, useful to the Master.” The Lord chooses His people in the furnace of affliction, and “He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver, to purify the sons of Levi, that they may offer to the Lord an offering in righteousness” (Malachi 3:3).